


Painted Wings and Giant Rings: Second Meeting

by nafs (nafio)



Series: Painted Wings and Giant Rings [2]
Category: Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-08
Updated: 2009-11-08
Packaged: 2017-10-09 06:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nafio/pseuds/nafs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Spencer Smith has to introduce himself for the second time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Painted Wings and Giant Rings: Second Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> NB:I know Pete's mom's name isn't Mary, and I'm not sure *what* her maiden name is. In the Pete/Patrick story in this universe, she's basically the villain, and I wanted to keep a clear separation between Dale Wentz the real person and the fictional "Pete's mom" the stumbling block for Pete and Patrick's fictional relationship.
> 
> Thanks and blame go to whoyouinvent who prodded me to actually write it all down for her, and talked out the last bit of this part with me, as well as doll_revolution, in_decisions, laniew1, lordwyndaystar, neery, thesamefire and tigs and those over wrisomifu who have all done some cheerleading.

﻿  
One day after practice, not long after Spencer and Ryan's birthdays and not long before the Nintendo Fusion Tour is about to start, Ryan pulls Spencer aside.

"Call it a late birthday present," he says shyly, holding out his palm and ducking behind his hair.

At first it just looks like a piece of paper, a little bigger than Ryan's freaky large hands. When Spencer picks it up he realizes it's a bumper sticker with the backing paper still on. He flips it over and catches his breath. Ryan has apparently been to the mall, one of those make-your-own kiosks that does mugs and t-shirts and bumper stickers. Except instead of a picture of them or the band, or the band logo, it's a family crest. *Spencer's* family crest.

"I know your ancestors said it was a good idea to mark your territory when you're traveling, in case anyone else is checking." Ryan explains. "We're going to be traveling a lot now."

Spencer traces the dragon curled around the base of the shield. "Yeah, we are." He's played with the idea of marking his stuff before. A couple of his high school notebooks had the crest traced out on the front or on the inside cover. But this is in full colour, and big enough to see from a distance, especially with chiropteric sight.

"This is awesome. You want to help me put it on the van?" Ryan's silent nod is all the encouragement he needs. They run out of the practice space and into the parking lot, where Ryan advises on placement and watches to make sure Spencer doesn't put the sticker on crooked. It isn't until they're standing back admiring their handiwork that something occurs to Spencer.

"Ry... what do I do when someone recognizes it?"

Ryan shrugs. "I guess you introduce yourself."

# # # #

At first Spencer hadn't intended to take the book on tour with him. He knows the contents pretty well by now, and from Pete's stories he can guess that touring is pretty hard on your shit. But the coat of arms reminds him that he might actually meet other chiropteri and maybe having a refresher on hand would be a good idea. One trip to Kinko's later, he has a cirlox-bound copy with opaque plastic covers, suitable for surviving van travel.

There are a couple of pages on the subject of meeting other chiropteri while traveling. A lot of the protocols and suggestions don't apply to pre-Shift kids like Spencer, but he studies them anyway in his rare moments alone, or curled up in the navigator's seat on the nights when Ryan has the driver's shift.

It figures then, that when his first introduction finally comes, Spencer is still completely unprepared.

"Spence Wentz!" Pete crows one afternoon as Panic roll out of their van, already too disoriented by tour to know which city this particuar parking lot belongs to. Even though they've only been on tour with Fall Out Boy for a few days, Spencer knows the best way to deal with Pete is to just roll with it.

Pete drags him off to a far corner of the parking lot and settles himself with his back against the chain-link fence."So. Brendon tells me the coat of arms on your bus is yours."

"That's right." Spencer nods, kicking a stray can down towards the buses. "It's pretty cool. Ryan made the sticker as like, a birthday present or something."

"I guess we haven't really been introduced,then."

"Huh?" Spencer stares at the guy he's known in person for over a year now. Pete holds out a hand.

"Pete Wentz of the Kingston line through Mary Kingston and Peter Wentz."

Spencer blinks at him for a full minute before he can come up with something to say.

"Tell me our contract doesn't make me a member of your line." Is all he can think to blurt out. Chiropteric contracts can be complicated and Spencer can just see the expression on his mom's face if he has to tell her that he has a new dad.

Pete laughs a loud, braying laugh and claps Spencer on the shoulder.

"Dude, you should see your face." He snickers. "Don't worry, I only own your music, not your soul. You can have your pride's lawyer double-check if you want."

"I don't have a pride." Spencer tells him. "I haven't gone looking for the Vegas prides yet, it just seems too weird."

"Okay see that was bugging me, because there totally is language in the Decaydance contract that a chiroptera would recognize, but you've got your coat of arms on the bus and you know what I'm talking about even though you're way too young to Shift. So what gives?"

"My ancestors left me a book."

"What, 'The McLaughlin Guide to Being a Dragon'?"

"How did you know...?"

Something dark and tired flits across Pete's face before he shrugs casually. "The Kingston line's pretty old, so I'm dragon-raised. I used to be able to rhyme off all the currently active lines and identify a couple hundred coats of arms. I guess it's all still stuck in my head somewhere."

"Oh." Something is going on that is clearly over Spencer's head. He tries to come up with a way to break the tension. He draws himself up and launches into a formal introduction. "Honoured elder..."

Pete snorts.

"Fine, asshole." Spencer deflates, secretly pleased. "Spencer James Smith the fifth of the McLaughlin line through Maureen O'Riordan and Michael McLaughlin."

"Your mom's family?"

"Couple generations back. My great-great-great grandparents. Once they figured there weren't going to be any chiropteri in the line for a while, they left me a diary. I brought a copy on tour with me."

"You should bring it by our bus." Pete says, pushing off from the fence. "Patrick'll want to see it."

# # # #

Finding out about Pete was... interesting. Knowing about Patrick is a godsend.

Unlike Pete, Patrick hadn't known about his heritage until he was sixteen, and unlike Spencer, he didn't have a guidebook.

"This is amazing," he tells Spencer, flipping through the book. "Pete set me up with a mentor, somebody who could answer all my questions, but sometimes I get the feeling I'm not asking the right ones."

"Yeah, but this book is like seventy years old." Spencer points out. "You've probably got more modern information than I do."

"Like what?"

"I've googled my fingers off and I can't find any websites. Please tell me there are some."

"Not really." Patrick shrugs."It's mostly word of mouth. There's a site for Searchers but that's about it."

"What's that like?"

"Never looked."

It's true that Spencer hasn't really thought about Searching for his mate yet but then again he's only eighteen. "You're not even curious?"

Patrick looks up at him. "Didn't Pete tell you how he knew I was a dragon?"

"Uh... no?"

"You know how some people get the good hearing or the agility or whatever early? The Wentz line... or wherever Pete's dad got it, he's like you and me, skipped a couple generations... anyway apparently it's a thing in his family sometimes. Sensitive nose. They can pick out the scent of exactly one chiroptera before they're old enough to Shift."

Spencer stares. Patrick turns pink and ducks his head.

"Pete said you were his, but... since you were *sixteen*?"

"Yeah."

"But isn't he dating Jeanae?"

"It's complicated."

"But he's old enough to Shift, right?"

Patrick scowls. "It's *really* complicated, Spencer." He taps the book. "One of the reasons I need all the answers I can get. Can I borrow this for a while?"

# # # #

"Spence!" Ryan hisses, grabbing Spencer by the elbow and pulling him into a corner before they hit the dressing rooms. "We're riding on the Fall Out Boy bus tonight."

"What?" Still riding high on stage adrenaline, Spencer's thoughts take some time to resolve themselves into a calm, Ryan-deciphering mode. "Why?"

Practically bouncing in place, he announces, "New moon started last night. I asked Pete, he said it would be okay."

"New moon..." Spencer blinks at him. "You want to *watch*?"

Ryan nods. "I want to see."

"Isn't that kind of personal?"

"Yeah, but... don't you want to?" Ryan bites his lip. "Just once?"

Of course Spencer *wants* to, he's never actually seen a shifted chiroptera outside of the picture of his ancestors. But he's not sure he'd want anyone else around while he changed. As far as he understands the process involves being *naked* and his list of people around whom he is comfortable being naked begins and ends with Ryan. Then again, this is Pete.

"You move our stuff to their bus, I'm going to find Patrick."

Patrick is pretty easy to find, this close to Fall Out Boy taking the stage. He's wandering the hall just outside the dressing rooms, warming up. He waves at Spencer but doesn't stop until he comes to the end of the Usher song he's warbling.

"I'm guessing this is about tonight?" He says, lips quirked.

"Is it really okay?" Patrick's starting to become a bit of a mentor in chiropteric things, or at least a partner in crime, but it still doesn't make it easy to say, "Pete's kind of easy for Ryan sometimes."

"It's fine." Patrick waves him off. "When he has to hold off until after a show he gets all antsy and likes to play. Think of Ryan as a new toy."

"He's... it doesn't *hurt* or anything, right?" That's the other sticking point. Spencer's ancestors had been pretty vague on details about the actual shifting process, probably because they'd done it so much by the time they'd started the diary. Ryan doesn't like to see people or animals in pain and Spencer doesn't want to have the experience tainted by anything.

"Pete's been shifting for over a year now. His body's used to it." Patrick checks his watch. "I gotta finish warming up. You and Ryan watch the show from Pete's side, and we'll go out together. All your questions shall be answered then, young grasshopper."

Spencer rolls his eyes but leaves Patrick to it.

# # # #

It's a scene that Spencer swears he'll remember for the rest of his life. Ryan crouching with his fingers sunk deep into Pete's brown fur, eyes shining like they never had at any Christmas that Spencer could remember.

"He's so soft." Ryan whispers. In response, Pete brings his head around to nuzzle at Ryan's cheek. He giggles, and then outright laughs when Pete licks him before promptly stealing his hat. "Pete!"

"Does he understand us?" Spencer asks Patrick, eyes fixed on Ryan.

"Now, yeah. The first couple of shifts were pretty overwhelming, he said. Couldn't always think with both brains and instincts at the same time."

"What did you do?"

"Ran like fuck. He was a couple months late - we were on Warped last year? Yeah. I ran, he followed. Got him away from the buses and ended up in a whole different muddy field. It was close but we got away with it. Luckily we were playing one of the afternoon slots that day. If we'd had a slot past sundown any of those first three days, we might have outed Pete to the whole world."

Pete takes off running down the football field with Ryan's hat still between his teeth and Ryan gives chase.

"See?" Patrick grins. "New toy."

Satisfied that both Pete and Ryan are having fun, Spencer turns most of his attention to Patrick. "How do you keep it quiet?"

"Pete's line is one of the oldest unbroken lines. They've got a lot of connections and lists of safe places like this high school." A dark look crosses Patrick's face. "A couple of the techs and security guys are plants put in by Pete's mom. Not unqualified, but didn't get the job by accident. Pete won't be the only one who's noticed the sticker on your van, but he's probably the only one who's figured out which of the four of you it is. If anyone else asks you about it, do me a favour and talk to me or Pete before you say anything."

"Um, sure." There's definitely something going on and Spencer is dying to ask, but just then Patrick nudges his elbow. He glances over to see Pete's silhouette crouched and waiting by the far bleachers as Ryan runs in closer. Just as Ryan's about to catch up, Pete's wings snap open and he pushes off with his hind legs, launching himself skyward. Ryan cranes his neck to watch and staggers backward, off-balance.

There's no moonlight but it's a clear night and Pete's silhouette shows up clearly against the stars. Spencer can't help but hold his breath as Pete soars higher and higher before turning to swoop down slowly in lazy figure-eights. He tries to drop the hat back on Ryan's head but misses by a few feet. Patrick's snort of laughter is eerily similar to Pete's own huff.

Pete glides along just above the grass, letting Ryan keep up, before coming to rest in front of Patrick. He curls his neck around Patrick's body and rests his chin on Patrick's shoulder.

"Hey there," Patrick says, his voice more gentle than Spencer's ever heard it. "Good night for flying, huh?" He reaches up to scratch behind one of Pete's ears and Spencer has to bite back a hysterical giggle when Pete stretches his wings and starts a deep rumbling purr.

Standing here and looking at them, it's startlingly obvious that they're a pair. Pete's not being jealous or aggressive, but Patrick is clearly his. This, Spencer could have told anyone weeks ago even if he hadn't known they were chiropteri. But what they play out in public, and in fact almost everywhere but here on this field, is a democracy, an equal give-and-take with no one ever having the upper hand for long. Seeing Patrick crooning to Pete, and more, watching Pete bask in the approval he so obviously needs from Patrick, makes Spencer reevaluate everything he's thought.

"You're the Protector." He says, several things slotting into place. "That's why it's complicated. You're Pete's Protector, and you're years away from shifting."

Patrick stiffens. Pete's neck unwinds as he rears back, wings coming out to shield Patrick. Ryan steps back towards Spencer, obviously confused.

"Now is not the best time for this conversation, Spencer." Patrick's voice is muffled, but firm. Spencer can see one of his hands resting on Pete's neck, restraining lightly.

Pete hisses.

Ryan reaches out for Spencer's shoulder, looking back and forth between them. "Did I miss something?"

Spencer isn't sure what to say. He wants to press, he's got at least a hundred questions. But he doesn't want to ruin tonight for Ryan. Anyway, there are a ton of reasons it's a bad idea to fight with Pete and Patrick.

He relaxes, patting Ryan's hand. "It's okay, he's right. We'll talk about this later, though? Maybe there's a way we can help."

Pete grumbles some more but folds his wings back. Patrick scratches his neck in reassurance. "We've already talked about how you guys could maybe help," he admits. "No plans yet, but yeah, I guess you'll need to know what's going on. It's a touchy subject though. Give me a few days to talk Pete around."

Pete huffs a bit.

"Hey!" Patrick taps him on the snout. "Fly tonight, sulk tomorrow. We've got extra people for Frisbee tonight!"

Spencer has to join in the laughter when Pete immediately starts nosing around in Patrick's jacket, looking for his Frisbee.

# # # #

Ryan finds Spencer tucked away in a corner backstage, sitting on a road case and frowning at his ancestors' diary.

"I couldn't find you," he says, as casually as possible. They've already had the talk about how he needs to focus as much as possible on the awesomeness of being on an actual tour with Fall Out Boy and not freak out about how everything is new and changing everyday.

Spencer looks up at him. "You're here." He points out in his fond but bitchy way. "So that's a lie."

Ryan relaxes a little. This is true. It took him a little while, but he found Spencer, just like he always does. Maybe, just maybe, the reason it took a while is the new building, and not Spencer.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to go mini-golfing. Pete was getting a group together." He checks his phone. "They're probably gone already."

"Sorry." Spencer grimaces, sitting up straighter. "You should have called."

"See, I tried that," Ryan keeps his voice light. "But you didn't pick up."

"I..." Spencer pulls his phone from his back pocket. "...have no bars." He glares at the display, and then up at Ryan again. "Sit down already, Ross."

Ryan wouldn't admit to anyone how relieved the gruff invitation makes him feel. But Spencer shifts over a little to make room, and then lays the binder out across both their laps. This is Spencer-speak for "I promise I wasn't hiding from you", so everything's okay between them.

"What's up?" he asks, glancing at the pages in front of him.

"I'm worried about them." Pete and Patrick. Ryan knows that their age difference is an issue, he remembers that much from hours with the binder, but the section on what happened after shifting wasn't a huge amount of interest to him. Spencer's only 18, he has time to worry about that kind of thing later.

But Spencer likes to talk problems out, so Ryan settles in to help. "How come?"

"You remember the other night?" Sure Ryan does. It was the best night he's ever had. Pete Wentz turned into an actual *dragon* (for some reason that's the term Patrick uses, and seeing Pete in the fur like that, Ryan has a hard time thinking of him as anything else) right in front of him, and Ryan got to watch him *fly* for hours.

"You mean when you finally noticed what I knew the second you told me Pete was a chiroptera?"

"You knew Pete was the Supportive?" Ryan has to laugh at Spencer's narrowed eyes.

"There's only two options if they're a pair – Protector and Supportive. I've hung out with Pete a lot," he points out. "I know how much he relies on Patrick, even if it doesn't look like it at first."

"Huh." Spencer eyes him speculatively for another moment before shrugging. "Well anyway... Pete's been shifting for over a year. That's a long time for a Supportive to go without the claiming that bonds a pair and lets him control the shifts. And Patrick's got at least two more years, probably closer to four before he'll be able to claim him."

"But you said Pete already knew Patrick was his mate, right?"

"Ye-a-a-h. That doesn't really help." Spencer fiddles with the corner of a page. "They can't have a real claiming until after they've both shifted. I don't really get it, but the book says it has something to do with scent changing after somebody shifts for the first time. So Pete needs things from Patrick that Patrick can't give him yet."

"So? I mean, there have been chiropteri for at least as long as there have been humans, right? By now there's gotta be ways to help a pair with an age difference."

"There are, but..." Spencer sighs. "It'd be a hell of a lot easier if Pete was the Protector in the relationship. He'd maybe be psycho jealous over Patrick by the time Patrick shifted but that would be most of it as long as they stuck together and Patrick didn't challenge him too much."

"Some people would say Pete's psycho jealous over Patrick already." Ryan prods.

"He pretends to be." Spencer agrees, running a hand through his hair. "But you've seen them – Pete's fine with Patrick hanging out with whoever, as long as he comes *back*. A Supportive needs approval and reassurance, like the feedback Patrick gives Pete when they're working on stuff. Patrick's doing as much as he can, but Pete's mom should be here, she's the Protector in his family."

"Kingston line, not Wentz," Ryan says. The family name for chiropteri goes with the Protector's family.

"Right. Instead, Patrick's warning me to stay away from people who work for her. And what really I don't get is why he's still dating Jeanae. The diary says a Supportive who doesn't get enough reassurance of the bond can get rejection sickness, even with their unshifted Protector right there. Spending time away from his Protector makes no *sense*."

"Rejection sickness?" Ryan's world stops for a second. He remembers the term, they'd spent enough time mocking it as something out of a romance novel. The diary said it was rare and the whole idea of pining away to nothingness had seemed far-fetched, even with all the other weird things that it talked about. That Spencer's even considering it... "You think Pete could die? But Patrick wants him."

"I don't know, Ry." Spencer's wearing his "I'm pissy because I'm helpless" look. "Maybe they're not worried because chiropteric medicine has found a solution in the last seventy years. I'm not supposed to ask more than they're willing to tell. I forgot there's a really strict rule about not interfering with Courtships. I'm probably lucky Patrick hasn't kicked my ass yet."

Ryan grabs his shoulder. "You're just worried. He can't... dammit, Spence, he can't blame you for that!"

"Hey," Spencer elbows him gently. "I do the worrying, around here, right? Calm down doofus. Patrick said we'd talk, so I'll listen to whatever he has to say and he won't have any reason for ass-kicking. Don't get so wound up. Pete'll be fine."

Ryan kind of wants to shake him. Pete could die. Pete *already knows* who his mate is and he could die. Spencer's met all of three chiropteri in his life and all of them are already paired. "How often does this happen, Spence? Rejection sickness?"

"Diary says it's pretty rare. Leave it to Pete Wentz to be special, right?" Spencer's eyebrows convey amusement, although his eyes are still worried.

"You've been talking to real chiropteri for less than a month and already we're in the middle of a situation your ancestors didn't predict. Newsflash, Spence. Diary's not always right."

Watching Fall Out Boy from sidestage that night, Ryan's mind isn't really on Pete at all. When he'd thought about Spencer Shifting, Ryan had tried hard to ignore the fact that shifting meant needing a mate. Because once Spencer found this perfect partner, what good was an ordinary best friend? But Spencer could die if he didn't leave. If he didn't find the right person, or if he found a *stupid* person who didn't want him. Ryan had found a few humans over the years who didn't get how awesome Spencer was. There was bound to be a couple of them among chiropteri as well. Only seven years to find the right one. Maybe as little as four years. If Spencer couldn't see how important that was, Ryan would help him.


End file.
